Light Happens

Friday, July 21, 2023

Artistic Courage

Innovation vs. Imitation

What do the following legendary artists have in common?

Impressionist painter Claude Monet

Actor Cary Grant

Film director Alfred Hitchcock

And singer Tony Bennett, who passed away today at the age of 96

Granted, they are all well-known. Most people have heard recordings of Tony Bennett, seen films starring Cary Grant or directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and almost everyone has seen Monet’s paintings.

a photo or two steam pipes on madison avenue new york

Dual Steam Pipes - New York (2023)

But these artists share another quality, a quality that I would argue is the secret to their success.

They did not imitate others.

Monet didn’t try to paint like Rembrandt.

Tony Bennett didn’t try to sing like Enrico Caruso.

Hitchcock didn’t try to make films like Cecil B. DeMille.

And Cary Grant, well, he was in a class by himself.

We can learn from emulating others, but in order to reach our potential, we need to develop our own style. Have the courage to pursue your own vision. The world needs innovation, not imitation.

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100S

Lens: Fujifilm GF 20-35mm f/4

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Many cinemas have closed in the city. Movies used play for months in Manhattan. There were enough theaters to accommodate them and plenty of people willing to pay money each week to see feature films on a big screen.

Streaming services and high-definition televisions brought the theater experience into people's homes. There was no need to pay twenty dollars a ticket for a cinematic experience.

And then the pandemic hit. Cinemas that struggled to stay afloat before Covid now faced even more daunting headwinds.

a photo of the closed beekman theater in new york city at night

Maybe the cinemas will stage a comeback. Maybe, like vinyl records, they'll pull a Houdini and enjoy an enthusiastic resurgence of interest and support.

Home theater systems are amazing, but there's nothing like watching a good film on a big screen, listening to a soundtrack on an array of large speakers, or laughing at jokes with a roomful of delighted movie buffs.

Camera: Sony a7R III

Lens: Sony FE 85mm f/1.8

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Little Sur River Beach

Captive Beauty

Heaven will look like Big Sur or it will be a disappointment. At least the heavenly version won't have barbed-wire fences and no trespassing signs.

a photo of the little sur river beach at sunset california

All California beaches are public property up to the high tide line. Unfortunately, a number of beautiful beaches are surrounded by private property, which renders the beach area inaccessible.

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100S

Lens: GF 30mm f/3.5

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Friday, December 30, 2022

Pacific Grove, California

A Cute Town With A Pleasant, Relaxed Vibe

Of the three municipalities on California's Monterey Peninsula, Pacific Grove has the most laid-back feel. It's a great place to explore shops and restaurants, enjoy a meal, a coffee, or an ice cream.

Red House Cafe

a photo of toasties cafe in pacific grove california

Toasties Cafe - Pacific Grove

a photo of shops and restaurants in pacific grove california

Pacific Grove Shops and Restaurants

a photo of the post office at pacific grove california

Pacific Grove Post Office

a photo of a colorful fire hydrant in pacific grove california

a photo of lighthouse avenue in pacific grove california

Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100S

Lens: GF 45mm f/2.8

GF 30mm f/3.5

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Levitating Skyscrapers

Structural Secrets Of Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards is a working rail yard. Passenger trains for New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Railroad pass through here all day and most of the night.

a photo of the hudson rail yards and skyscrapers in new york city

Hudson Rail Yards and Skyscrapers - New York (2022)

The huge skyscrapers that they started building in this area a few years ago are built over those tracks. I don't know how they did it, but that was quite a trick.

A track trick. A trick with tricky tracks. A tricky train track trick. The trials and trackulations. Something like that.

Camera: Sony a7R IV

Lens: Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Monday, December 26, 2022

One Afternoon In Manhattan

Street Photography in NYC

I went out for a sunny stroll and caught some street shots along the way.

Mighty Quinn's - New York (2022)

Moving Van

a photo of a man pushing a shopping cart past a ninja martial arts store in new york

Ninja Warrior

a photo of a couple holding hands in new york city

True Love - New York (2022)

Camera: Sony a7R IV

Lens: Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 and 85mm f/1.8

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Remembering Galen Rowell

Impact And Inspiration

My life changed on a Saturday afternoon in the late 1990s. While visiting the Carnegie Museum Of Natural History in Pittsburgh, I noticed a sign announcing a photography exhibition. I recognized the name of the photographer, Galen Rowell. I had read articles about him, but I had never seen prints of his work in person. It was an experience that I'll never forget.

I had never seen photographs like this before. The compositions were wonderful, but it was the color, the detail, and the creamy smoothness of the prints that struck me most powerfully.

I remember feeling puzzled, even bewildered. What I was seeing seemed beyond the capability of what a camera could produce. It was as though I had witnessed a magic trick that made me question things that I thought the I understood.

a photo of a new york city sunset from central park daniel south photograph

I came away from the exhibition with a strange fascination. I didn't just want to understand how he captured photos that looked like this, I wanted to be able to product images with a similar look. It became an obsession, albeit one with a positive purpose. My fascination kicked off a decades long journey of discovery.

Galen Rowell was a skilled climber and mountaineer who traveled the world photographing remote places for National Geographic. He climbed Everest and El Capitan. He photographed Nepal and Machu Picchu.

I didn't spend much time in wilderness areas. I lived in a heavily populated area and commuted into a large city for work every day.

Nevertheless, I believed that if I could study and learn Mr. Rowell's style of photography, with its brilliant colors, dramatic skies, and awe-inspiring light, I could adapt that style for use in urban areas. Sunsets happen everywhere; we don't have to venture into the wilderness to see one.

Sadly, Galen Rowell and his wife died in a plane crash on August 11, 2002, twenty years ago today. I am now the age that Galen was when he passed away.

I never had the chance to meet Galen Rowell or attend one of his workshops (which were always sold out!) but his creative vision, his artistry, and his masterful craftsmanship have inspired me since the day I first saw his prints.

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100S

Lens: GF 45mm f/2.8

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Boating At The Bow Bridge

Summer Fun

a photo of boaters at the bow bridge in central park new york city

Boating At The Bow Bridge - Central Park

Picture yourself in a boat on a lake...

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100S

Lens: GF 45mm f/2.8

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Fountains At The Met

Dancing In The Dark

Fountains At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

I love watch these fountains on a warm summer evening.

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100S

Lens: GF 23mm f/4

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Sunset On The Reservoir

Reflections On The Day

a photo of the jacqueline kennedy onassis reservoir in central park at sunset

Sunset On The Reservoir - Central Park (2022)

Summer sunset captured from the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park.

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100S

Lens: GF 80mm f/1.7

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Sunday, May 22, 2022

High Dynamic Range Travel Photography

Pushing The Boundaries

St. Michael's Church - Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Digital photography provides a number advantages over film, such as the ability to see and share images immediately, along with documentation of camera settings and the date and time of each exposure.

One advantage is the ability to combine images to capture scenes with a high dynamic range. By combining a series of over and underexposed images, photographers can capture details in dark shadows and bright highlights. This is known as HDR photography.

Banffy Castle - Romania

When this technique first became popular, people sometimes used it to create surreal and stylized images that didn't represent the original scene faithfully. I had no interest in this style of photography and avoided HDR techniques for some time.

My attitude changed when I saw a set of images by Trey Ratcliff. His photos looked perfectly natural. I would never have guessed that they were created with HDR techniques.

a photo of a monastery pained with outside fresco murals bucovina romania

Painted Monastery - Bucovina, Romania

I began to explore how to use HDR techniques in my own photography. One of the first applications that came to mind was photographing the interior of churches. If you expose for the dark interior, the windows will be over-exposed. Viewers can't see the beautiful colored windows. They're totally washed out. Exposing for the windows renders the church as dark as it would be at night with the lights off.

HDR to the rescue! I first attempted this technique in Venice, at the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. I took some meter readings, dialed in settings I thought I could capture handheld, took a deep breath and captured a series of five images in rapid succession. When I combined the images on my computer, I was delighted when I could see the blue sky through the windows.

a photo of brasov romania shops and restaurants at night

Shops and Restaurants at Dusk - Brasov, Romania

Since then, I have used HDR to capture a number high dynamic range scenes, indoors and out, day and night. It doesn't alway work. It can be complicated when there is movement within the frame, and it can have difficulty rendering highlights in water. But when it works, the results go far beyond what can be captured in a single image. HDR has become an essential part of my photographic toolkit particularly when I am traveling and I only have one chance to get the shot.

Sony a7R III

Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Saturday, April 30, 2022

Romania

Travel In A Troubled World

With war raging in Ukraine, I decided to look back through photos of my travels in Eastern Europe. Romania borders Ukraine to the south.

This is a beautiful part of the world; the thought of it being destroyed so senselessly is extremely troubling. The loss of life and the humanitarian crisis are of course the most tragic aspects of this and any war, but the obliteration of irreplaceable historic and cultural treasures is a monumental loss.

Sibiu On A Sunny Day

a photo of the holy trinity romanian orthodox cathedral at sibiu

Holy Trinity Cathedral at Sibiu (Romanian Orthodox)

a photo of bran castle in transylvania romania

Bran Castle - Transylvania

a photo of an engraved cross at bran castle romania

Engraved Cross At Bran Castle - Transylvania

a photo of the dormition of the theotokos cathedral in cluj napoca romania

Dormition Of The Theotokos Cathedral at Cluj-Napoca

Sony a7R III

Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM

Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Towers In Black And White

New York Skyscrapers

The Lipstick Building

a black and white photo of new york skyscrapers architecture abstraction

Lines And Squares

a black and white photo of a new york skyscraper by daniel south

Imperfect Symmetry

Safety Tips for Photographers

1. Mind your footing. You're a human being. Humans stumble. I saw a lady trip over a root and fall while hiking at Point Lobos. Her fancy camera shattered into pieces.

2. Always be prepared to move. An animal could charge at you. A vehicle might swerve in your direction. A flash flood or a "sneaker wave" could put you in danger unexpectedly. Be prepared to grab your stuff and go.

3. Always close and secure your gear bag. If you pick up an open backpack, your gear is going to fall out. Don't take that chance.

4. You're going to drop things. Hopefully, it's just a lens cap, but even losing something small is annoying. If it's a filter or something more valuable, it's a bigger loss, and you won't have that piece of gear to work with for the rest of your trip. I once dropped a lens cap into the Grand Canyon. I shattered a lens at Loch Ness when I dropped it on a rock. Be mindful that these things can happen and use extra caution at all times.

5. Your tripod has many points of failure. One loose connection can lead to disaster. I finished shooting one morning and unlocked the knob that held my camera in place. I decided to take one more photo. I unlocked a second knob that allowed the camera to rotate, secured that knob, and took my photo. I then picked up the tripod forgetting that the other knob was still loose. My camera fell to the ground and was damaged beyond repair.

6. Be aware of the people around you. Two guys started tossing a ball near where I was photographing a historic building. I don't know if it was accidental or not, but one of them ran into me with considerable force while I was looking in a different direction. I didn't fall or drop the camera, but my back was sore for days. Another time, a guy in a deserted section of a city remarked, "Hey, nice camera! I've got some camera gear if you're interested." He motioned for me to follow him. For a brief moment, I wondered what kind of gear he might have. It seemed like an incredulous claim. Then it occurred to me that if I went where he was leading, he would indeed be in possession of camera gear - mine.

Camera and Lens:

Image 1: Fujifilm GFX 100S, GF 80mm f/1.7

Image 2: Sony a7R IV, FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS

Image 3: Fujifilm GFX 100S, GF 45mm f/2.8

Light happens. Be ready. Shoot hard.